Iowa GOP chair optimistic Iowa’s Republican Party Caucuses will be first in 2024

DES MOINES — The Iowa GOP’s chairman says a national panel he’s been leading is unanimously backing a report that would secure First-In-The-Nation status for the Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses in 2024. 

“So our very, very critical first step couldn’t have turned out better,” says Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann, who’s been chairman of the national party’s Presidential Nominating Process Committee. 

Kaufmann says the group reviewed options for rearranging the timing of presidential primaries and caucuses, but the final report recommends that no changes be made. “That, de facto, would leave Iowa as First-in-the-Nation,” Kaufmann says.

The report will be presented to the Republican National Committee this summer. Kaufmann says he’s hopeful GOP leaders from other states will ratify the plan to have Iowa Caucuses first, followed by New Hampshire’s Primary and contests in Nevada and South Carolina — but he’s not taking it for granted.  “Our lobbying efforts and our explanation and education efforts to the RNC and to the Rules Committee, I’m going to handle this like we’re behind by about 30 votes right now,” Kaufmann says.

In late January, a group of Democratic National Committee members discussed changes to their presidential nominating process and aired complaints about the caucus process. Kaufmann says he has full faith in Iowa Democratic Party leaders who are making the case that their party’s Caucuses should remain first in 2024.   “It is important that we start out in a small state. It is important that the Midwest has a voice,” Kaufmann says. “…If you bring Nevada and South Carolina and New Hampshire and Iowa together, we check all the boxes whether it’s geographic diversity, philosophical diversity, ethnic diversity.”

Kaufmann is at his eastern Iowa farm and participated remotely in last week’s Republican National Committee gathering in Utah.